Onion or apple?

Confession with traction...

Upfront games are fun ways to start off group events. Sometimes they are competitions and sometimes a practical joke; sometimes both. One of our favorite upfront games is to cover an onion as one would cover a candy apple. We tell people the "contest" will be to see who can eat their raw onion the fastest. We cover the onion in caramel or some other such covering. People are prepared to munch it down and that first bite comes as quite a surprise. The funniest version is to get three participants and only give one an onion. In all the years of sharing this fun, practical joke, only one person discovered it was an onion and kept on eating!

The joke works on the premise that something is represented as one thing when in reality it's not that thing at all.

That's all fine in fun and games. In life, no; not so much.

It's just not funny, nor is it a game, to claim one is a follower of Jesus but not have evidence below the surface of such a confession. The writer of Proverbs 14:2 says people who fear the Lord show it in the way they actually ARE in their hearts and live in their lives. "Whoever walks in uprightness fears the LORD, but he who is devious in his ways despises him." (Proverbs 14:2 ESV)

The heart issue: "...he who is devious...despises [the Lord]."
The action issue: "Whoever walks in uprightness fears the LORD..."

Our confession of faith has to find traction in our concern for holiness. Let us be humble before the Lord, and seek His help to LIVE what we say we believe. Let's not have a sweet cover over a bitter reality. Instead, let us humble ourselves before the Lord, be led of the Spirit and allow God to change us on the inside in such a way that it changes how we live on the outside.